


too good to be true

by andromedagalaxy



Series: Philkas College Verse [27]
Category: Eyewitness (US TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 05:13:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11396031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andromedagalaxy/pseuds/andromedagalaxy
Summary: “I’m not sick.”Lukas is sitting on their couch, bent over, one arm wrapped around his middle. Philip can see the sweat on his forehead from the front door. He closes it fast, dropping his bag on the ground.“Not a good way to lead if you want me to believe you,” Philip says, immediately approaching him. When he gets closer he sees Lukas is trembling, and he presses his hand to Lukas’s forehead and panics at how hot it is. “Lukas,” he says, accusingly.“I’m not sick,” Lukas repeats, but he bends over a little bit more, groaning.





	too good to be true

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Mari, who is constantly creating such beautiful art for this fandom. I hope you like this, and I hope you have a birthday as wonderful as you are <3

“I’m not sick.”

Lukas is sitting on their couch, bent over, one arm wrapped around his middle. Philip can see the sweat on his forehead from the front door. He closes it fast, dropping his bag on the ground.

“Not a good way to lead if you want me to believe you,” Philip says, immediately approaching him. When he gets closer he sees Lukas is trembling, and he presses his hand to Lukas’s forehead and panics at how hot it is. “Lukas,” he says, accusingly.

“I’m not sick,” Lukas repeats, but he bends over a little bit more, groaning. 

“How long has this been going on?” Philip asks, taking Lukas’s face in his hands and tipping it up.

Lukas’s eyes look foggy and he’s breathing through his mouth. Philip can tell he’s been blowing his nose because it’s all red. Lukas closes his eyes but doesn’t try to wiggle out of Philip’s grasp. “Philip, I’m not—”

“Tell me right now,” Philip says, not letting him go. “Everything that’s going on. Exactly what’s wrong. Right now.”

Lukas sighs, turning a little bit into Philip’s palm. “Headache. Stuffy nose. Uh, feel like…my whole body hurts. Hot and cold. And I keep—I keep—” He dips down out of Philip’s grasp then, dissolving into a round of coughing. It sounds raspy and loose, like it hurts, and Philip unconsciously moves in to rub Lukas’s shoulder, soothing his hand through his hair. 

“Babe, you should have texted me and told me you were sick.”

“I don’t wanna bother you in class. And I’m not—”

Philip sighs, rolling his eyes. “I thought you sounded a little stuffy last night.”

“I swear, baby, I’m good,” Lukas says, leaning his forehead on Philip’s stomach.

“Alright, tough guy,” Philip says, caressing the back of his neck. “Come on.”

~

About ten minutes later Philip has Lukas in the tub and he’s dragging his hand through the water, bringing it up and over Lukas’s chest.

“Okay,” Lukas says, sinking down a little lower. “Maybe I am sick.”

“You think?” Philip says, trying not to sound too harsh. “You have a 101 degree fever, Lukas.”

“That why you made the water cold?” Lukas asks, popping one eye open.

“It’s not cold, it’s lukewarm,” Philip says. “Is it okay? It’s hard because you’re hot and cold.”

“No, it’s fine,” Lukas says. “Helping.”

Philip takes the washcloth he set on their little stool and lays it on Lukas’s forehead. “That too cold?” he asks.

“No,” Lukas says. “Feels good.”

Philip sits back, feeling a little tug at his heart. It’s rare when Lukas is sick but it always makes Philip feel awful. He wishes he could just change it, fix it, make him better with one touch. Lukas has this perpetual frown on his face and Philip reaches out, brushing his thumb between Lukas’s eyebrows.

“You’re only gonna stay in for a couple minutes,” Philip says, watching as Lukas turns towards him. “Just thought this would ease some of your body aches.”

“Smart,” Lukas says. “Think it is easing them a little. Don’t exactly feel like a truck hit me anymore.”

“Did you skip class?” Philip asks.

“Yeah,” Lukas says. “Which sucks, since we’re only a month into term. But I literally just…couldn’t make it out of bed. I only came out into the living room to try and put on a show that I wasn’t sick for you but—”

“But that failed,” Philip says, moving the wash cloth back and forth a little bit against Lukas’s skin. “Spectacularly.”

“I’m upset,” Lukas whines. 

“Why?” Philip asks, moving closer to the edge of the tub. 

“Because you’re probably gonna get sick now,” Lukas says, turning to look at him, his eyes wide and concerned. “I don’t want you to get sick.”

Philip smiles, leaning in to rub his hand up and down Lukas’s neck, over his collarbones and his chest. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

~

Philip helps Lukas into his pajamas and puts a jacket on him for good measure when he starts shivering. He gets him into bed, pulls the covers up and tucks him in, sitting beside him.

“You think you need some more aspirin?” Philip asks, running his hand through Lukas’s hair.

Lukas shakes his head, his eyes squeezed shut tight as he turns his face into his pillow. 

“Babe, you gotta talk to me, okay?” Philip says, worry in his voice. 

“Took it right before you got home,” Lukas says, coughing a little bit. “Be okay.”

Philip is getting a little more scared with every passing second. “Are you falling asleep?” he asks, taking the damp washcloth and dabbing at Lukas’s forehead. 

“Mhm,” Lukas hums, breathing through his mouth. 

“I’m gonna get out the vaporizer that Helen bought us, okay?” Philip says, dragging the wash cloth over Lukas’s cheeks. 

“Mmm, love you,” Lukas says, reaching out and taking Philip’s wrist. “Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not gonna leave you, baby,” Philip says, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Lukas’s temple. He guesses the vaporizer can wait until later. He kicks off his shoes and swings his legs up onto the bed, settling down alongside Lukas. Lukas immediately throws an arm over him, drawing him closer.

~

Philip wakes up when he hears Lukas muttering. 

“Philip, no,” Lukas whispers, thrashing a little bit and shaking the bed. “No, careful—”

Philip blinks the world into focus and reaches out, touching Lukas’s cheek. “Lukas,” he slurs, shifting a little bit so he’s braced on his elbow. 

“Philip,” Lukas says, whimpering a little bit. “No.”

“Shhh, baby,” Philip whispers, tangling their legs together and tracing his fingers down Lukas’s cheek. “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here.” He leans in, kissing Lukas’s forehead, and it feels hotter than it was. 

Lukas stills a little bit, calming down. “Philip,” he whispers. 

“You’re okay,” Philip says, pressing the bridge of his nose to Lukas’s cheek. “I love you.”

Lukas hums, contentedly, snuffling and suppressing a cough. 

Philip looks over his shoulder and sees that it’s only seven o’clock at night. They’ve been asleep for about an hour and a half and Philip doesn’t like that Lukas seems hotter. He’s still muttering in his sleep, his brows furrowed.

Lukas’s phone starts ringing on the bedside table. 

Philip quickly reaches over and grabs it, bringing it to his ear. “Hello?” he whispers, still smoothing his hand up and down Lukas’s arm.

“Philip?” Bo’s voice says.

“Mm, yes,” Philip says. He picks Lukas’s arm up and moves it off of him as easily as he can and shifts off the bed. He walks over to the bathroom and flips on the light, closing the door behind him. “I’m sorry.”

“Where’s Lukas, is he alright?” Bo asks.

“He’s sleeping, but he’s, uh—he’s sick,” Philip says, leaning against the wall. “I came home today and he was all feverish and coughing and I’m worried.”

“His colds were always bad,” Bo says. “You got any Vicks in your medicine cabinet?”

“Yeah, yeah I think so,” Philip says. He walks over and opens the mirror, sees the little bottle of vapor rub in there. “Yeah, we do.”

“Put it under his nose, on his chest,” Bo says. “Always helped.”

Philip nods, holding the bottle in his hand. “Okay.”

“He rarely got sick when he was young, but when he did it always hit him hard,” Bo says. “Had to keep him out of school for a week once to help him get over it.”

Philip bites his lip, his heart beating faster.

“Start with the basics. Work on the fever with aspirin. Give him lots of water, soup, cough drops. He likes the cherry ones.”

“Noted,” Philip says, already thinking of ordering groceries like Lukas did when Philip was dehydrated. 

“He still having the nightmares?” Bo asks.

“He, uh—he just was,” Philip says. He takes a few steps forward and peeks out into the bedroom. Lukas’s face is turned into the pillow and it looks like he’s breathing a little heavily. 

“Used to happen when he was sick,” Bo says. “I imagine it’s worse now after what happened to the two of you. He used to get half delirious when he was feverish.”

Philip rubs his arm and swallows hard. He knows Lukas was saying his name and he worries about what he was dreaming. The nightmares are sporadic nowadays but they still loom in the shadows, and Philip knows now that the fever is coloring the images darker. 

“He’d probably hate me if he knew I was about to tell you this,” Bo says, laughing a little bit. “But I’m gonna tell you anyway.”

The corner of Philip’s mouth quirks up. “What is it?”

“When he was sick like this and he tried to sleep, we could always…keep the nightmares at bay if we sang to him. It always helped him go to sleep and stay asleep, no nightmares.”

“Oh my God,” Philip says, smiling. “That’s really cute. Okay. I can manage that.”

“I’m sure he’ll like it even more, coming from you,” Bo says. “I’d pick up some vitamin C too, if you can.”

“Yes, yes, I can,” Philip says, pacing a little bit back and forth. “I’m gonna get everything tomorrow. Thank you so much, I’m so glad you called. Is there anything you want me to tell him?”

“Nah, it’s alright,” Bo says. “I was just calling to check in. I take it he didn’t tell you he was getting sick?”

“No, he didn’t, which is irritating,” Philip says. “I should have noticed.”

“He hides it well,” Bo says. “Always likes to try to deny it’s happening.”

“Yeah, he did that too,” Philip says, shaking his head. “I’m gonna be more vigilant from now on.”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to him,” Bo says. “Keep me updated.”

“I will,” Philip says. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course,” Bo says. 

They hang up and Philip feels particularly good about the phone call, despite its circumstances. He makes sure to take the Vicks bottle out of the bathroom, already planning his grocery order for early in the morning. He flips off the light in the bathroom and pads back out, walking over to the bed. He gets back in and pulls Lukas into his lap, scooting down against the headboard. Lukas makes a little noise and gets closer, pushing himself up so he’s laying against Philip’s chest.

Lukas coughs a little bit, groaning. 

Philip wraps his arms around him, running his fingers through his hair. He tries to think of a song and for some reason the first one he thinks of is old, something he remembers walking in on Helen and Gabe dancing to one afternoon, in the middle of the kitchen with the radio crackling on the counter. 

Philip clears his throat. “You’re just too good to be true…” he starts, his voice breaking a little bit. “Can’t take my eyes off of you…”

Lukas makes a content little noise, snuggling closer, tightening his arms around Philip’s waist. “Mmm, Philip.”

“You’d be like heaven to touch…” Philip sings, running his hands through Lukas’s hair. “I wanna hold you so much…at long last love has arrived…and I thank God I’m alive…you’re just too good to be true…can’t take my eyes off of you…”

“I love you, baby,” Lukas mutters, half singing and very nasally. Philip laughs. “And if it’s quite alright…”

“I need you baby,” Philip continues, grinning so hard his face hurts, “to warm the lonely nights…”

And then they’re both singing together, in time, softly in the plush purple dark of the room. “I love you baby, trust in me when I say…oh pretty baby, don’t bring me down I pray…oh pretty baby, now that I’ve found you, stay…and let me love you, baby…let me love you….”

They both trail off and Lukas hums, nuzzling into Philip’s chest. The song feels so apt when he really thinks about it. Lukas is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Philip never wants to stop looking at him.

“Go back to sleep, sugar,” Philip says, kissing the top of Lukas’s head. “Think of all the ways I’m gonna take care of you tomorrow.”

“Mmm, feed me chicken soup,” Lukas whispers, and Philip can tell he’s drifting off, and despite still sounding sick, Philip knows he’s more settled, now. He can tell by the tone of his voice, the way his body relaxes. 

“Yes,” Philip says. 

“Keep singing,” Lukas whispers, his breathing slowing down and evening out. “Please.”

“Yes sir,” Philip says, silently thanking Bo in his head, and he starts up again.


End file.
